In Flanders Fields - the first TGW AAR (yes!)

[StephenT]

This is an after action report based on the pre-alpha team version. While this isn't yet a playable game, I felt there was enough there now to set off a totally hands-off game, see what the AI did, and document it. At the least, this could highlight areas where more work is needed!

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
between the crosses, row on row,
that mark our place; and in the sky
the larks, still bravely singing, fly
scarce heard amid the guns below.
- John McCrae, 1915


As January 1914 dawns, the world is at peace. Only a civil war in far-off Mexico and stirrings of trouble in Italy's new colony of Libya disturb the calm.

Perhaps seeking military glory and experience for their troops, Britain, France and Russia all declare war on Sanusia within 5 days of the start of the year, joining the Italians in their fight. However, this desultory colonial war is not destined to bring much glory to either side - the Sanusid army will starve to death in the middle of the Sahara by April 1914, and no foreign troops will approach within 500 miles of their borders. Note, perhaps this is something we should fix

In Mexico, the war between the constitutionalists and the revolutionaries under Zapata and Villa will see-saw backwards and forwards for many months. The government forces take the initiative early with an attack on Acapulco on 18 January - capturing the province by 5 February.

However, they are forced to weaken their northern front to do so, and the rebel forces take advantage of this, sweeping forward on a broad front into San Luis Potosi, Guadalajara, and even approaching Cuidad de México itself. However, they are unable to hold these provinces, and by late March loyalist forces have driven the revolutionaries back and are ready to mount an offensive of their own.

Meanwhile, politics as normal continues in the rest of the world. Japan elects a liberal government, while Argentina moves to the right. The Ottoman Empire, still recovering from its humiliation during the Balkan Wars, seeks to strengthen its navy - buying a modern battleship from Brazil, but being rebuffed when they also attempt to purchase one from Chile. The fledgling Chinese Republic attempts to assert its sovereignity over Tibet, but is roundly rejected.

In April, the Government of Mexico launches its grand offensive against the rebels. First feinting with an advance along the Pacific coast into Culiacan province, the main constitutionalist army then launches an attack directly on the revolutionary capital of Monterrey. Beginning on 13 April, this battle will soon break down into a bloody stalemate lasting two and a half months.

While the Mexican government is pouring its forces into the bloodbath of Monterrey, the rebels are raising troops in their other provinces. On 18 May, Zapatist troops move against San Luis Potosi and Guadalajara once again. The government is taken completely by surprise, believing that all the revolutionary forces had been penned up in Monterrey. With no reserves to stop them, the rebels capture Guadalajara by 14 June and quickly move on to Acapulco, capturing it by 23 June. Surrounded on three sides, time is running out for Ciudad de México.

On 26 June, Pancho Villa leads a rag-tag but triumphant army through the streets of the Mexican capital. Although the President managed to escape to Villahermosa in the south, his cause is doomed. Cut off and without supplies, the constitutionalist army, still dug in around Monterrey, is forced to surrender. On 4 July the Revolutionaries formally take control of Mexico.

Hardly anybody in the rest of the world notices this, however, for by then far more important events have taken centre stage...

To be continued...

 

[StephenT]

Now, God be thanked who has matched us with His hour,
And caught our youth, and wakened us from sleeping,
With hand made sure, clear eye, and sharpened power,
To turn, as swimmers into cleanness leaping.
- Rupert Brooke, 1914


Europe on the eve of war:

On 28 June 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne is shot dead by a 19-year old Serbian nationalist. Outraged, the government of the Dual Monarchy pauses only to ensure they have Germany’s backing before sending an ultimatum to Serbia. However, the Serbs in turn secure Russian support, and reject Vienna’s demands. The result is inevitable: on 25 July Germany and Austria-Hungary go to war with Serbia and Russia. Russia’s Entente partner France is also drawn into the conflict – but Italy backs out of her alliance, preferring to remain neutral.

On 29 July, Germany declares war on Belgium and Luxembourg. The following day, their Mediterranean fleet breaks out through the Straits of Gibraltar under the guns of the neutral British fleet, and returns to Germany. However, fearing German hegemony and unwilling to see Belgium fall to the Germans, Britain does not stay neutral for long; on 2 August she agrees to join a military alliance with France and Russia. The same day, Japan announces she will also honour her alliance commitments to Britain. The conflict has become a world war.

Indeed, the first noteworthy military action comes in the distant Pacific, as a Japanese amphibious assault force captures the Marianas from Germany.

In Europe, the Germans quickly overrun Luxembourg, which falls on 8 August. However, the long-planned offensives of each Great Power fail in the face of modern artillery, machine guns and barbed wire. Soon a stalemate settles in along both the Eastern and Western fronts, as the two trench lines face each other in sullen hostility.
OK, I think we have a problem here. I know WW1 didn’t see a lot of movement, but in my game the Germans, French and Russians didn’t take one step outside their country’s borders This is presumably an AI problem, unless the current lack of victory point provinces has something to do with it. And yes, I had the AI set to “aggressive”.

At sea, there is more action. While the British fleet patrols the Atlantic sealanes, the Germans take the opportunity to demonstrate off the North Sea coast.

Alarmed, the British take the desperate step of confiscating two Turkish battleships currently nearing completion in English shipyards. The Turks are outraged, but stop short of declaring war.
A problem with the Turkish event chain here, since the Goeben & Breslau event happened before the Seize-the-battleships events, resulting in Turkey not getting an event to join the war)

The month of September sees further colonial conflict. In Africa, the South Africans fight a battle with German Schütztruppen near Lüderitz, while von Lettow-Vorbeck’s East African askaris capture an undefended Mombasa, then advance up the Kenyan Railway to Nairobi. By the end of the month the British have taken the entire coastal strip of Südwest Afrika, while the Germans have captured both Kenya and Uganda. Meanwhile, on 27 September a Japanese expedition lands at Tsingtao, centre of Germany’s Far Eastern empire.

In Europe, the first major fighting takes place on the southern front. An Austrian army crosses the border into the Serbian province of Kraljevo on 23 September. This bloody fighting will last almost two months, but ends in a victory for the tenacious Serbian defenders. On 19 November they not only force the Austrian troops into retreat, but advance forward themselves into the province of Osijek.

With most of their troops in the north facing off against the Russian hordes, the Dual Monarchy has insufficient reserves to halt the Serbian advance. City after city falls in quick succession – Mostar on 3 December, Sarajevo (where it all started) on 9 December, and Dubrovnik on 13 December. As the New Year dawns, Serbian troops are poised to attack Zagreb and Novi Sad, with their dream of forming a South Slav Kingdom apparently about to be realised…

It's possible we may need to strengthen Austria-Hungary or weaken Serbia, or alt least change the A-H ai. They actually have many more divisions than the Serbs, but almost all of them are posted on the Russian border (and are immobile there).

 

[StephenT]

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries for them; no prayers nor bells,
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs -
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
- Wilfred Owen (date unknown, published posthumously in 1921)


1915 sees the triumphant Serbian armies sweeping forward in a seemingly unstoppable wave. Zagreb falls on 7 January, Novi Sad on 13 January, and Banja Luka on 20 January. Finally, they suffer a check when they attempt to invade the Hungarian province of Timisoara. Although severely outnumbered, the local militia repel the Serb armies on 23 January, and a second attack in mid-February is also defeated.

Meanwhile, the Japanese have been forced to abandon their attack on Tsingtao, and a stalemate also appears to have settled over the African theatre of war. On 15 January, Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare, to the displeasure of the United States.

On the second day of March, Serbia launches the Third Battle of Timisoara, and this time they are finally victorious. Exploiting forces, spearheaded by cavalry, quickly take advantage of the victory, overrunning much of Transylvania and sweeping north over the Hungarian plain as far as Arad, Oradea and Debrecen.

In desperation, the Dual Monarchy changes plan. The newly-fortified border with Russia is stripped of excess troops, and massive reinforcements are sent south to fight the Serbs.
In other words, ‘Yes! The AI finally did something sensible!’

On 1 April 1915, the troop balance of the Great Powers is as follows:
Russia: 167 divisions
France: 127 divisions
Germany: 110 divisions
Austria-Hungary: 74 divisions
Ottoman Empire: 46 divisions
USA: 40 divisions
Italy: 40 divisions
British Empire: 33 divisions
Serbia: 16 divisions

Hmm. Little wonder Germany isn’t doing much attacking if they’re outnumbered so heavily, especially if they don’t have a tech advantage. Serbia is doing remarkably well considering it is outnumbered nearly 5-1 by A-H. And what on earth is the USA doing building so many divisions in peacetime?

The Austro-Hungarian counteroffensive achieves tremendous success. The Serbian attack on Debrecen is repulsed, and then on 8 April a pincer movement recaptures Arad and Cluj-Napoea, trapping the Serbian forces in Oradea within a pocket.

Buoyed up by their latest success, the Dual Monarchy dismisses any suggestion of seeking a new alliance with Italy – a move that will soon prove disastrous. The Oradea pocket is attacked on 22 April and liquidated by the 30th. Meanwhile, the British West African Regiment launches a successful attack on Douala, capital of Kamerun, on 23 April. The following month, a German U-boat operating in the Western Approaches torpedoes the liner Lusitania with the loss of 1,201 lives. Due to the resultant furore, Germany is forced to cancel its policy of unrestricted submarine warfare on 16 May.

On 23 May, Emperor Franz Joseph receives shocking news: Italy has stabbed their old ally in the back and declared war on the Central Powers. Fortunately, Austro-Hungarian troops are already in place along the Alpine border, and for many months the Italians are unable to make any headway. Meanwhile, the victorious Austro-Hungarian advance against Serbia continues. On 23 June, the cheering citizens of Timisoara once more raise the red, white and green flag of St Stephen above their city, and a second Serbian army is caught in a pocket.

The Sibiu pocket is reduced by 18 July. This success is followed by a pause as both sides rest their troops. However, German diplomats are at work behind the scenes, convincing the Tsar of Bulgaria that his country’s best interests lie with the Central Powers. On 7 September, therefore, Bulgaria declares war on Serbia. Their troops quickly overrun Macedonia and Kosovo, taking Skopje and Pristina within a week. A hasty Serbian counterattack on 25 September is repulsed.

It seems that the tide of battle has turned. Unfortunately for the Central Powers, this turns out to be overconfidence. On 28 September, the long-prepared Italian offensive finally breaks through the lines, capturing Ljubljiana and splitting Austria-Hungary into two. However, a follow-up Serbian attack on Pecs is beaten back on 8 October. With the situation so finely balanced, the Dual Monarchy decides to stake everything on a last gamble. They will attempt to capture the Serbian capital of Beograd. Launched in mid-November, this will eventually become the longest, bloodiest and most desperate battle of the war so far…

 

[StephenT]

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.”
- Siegfried Sassoon, 1918


As 1916 begins, this is the balance of forces:

Russia: 175 divisions
Germany: 132 divisions
France: 132 divisions
Austria-Hungary: 92 divisions
USA: 80 divisions
British Empire: 60 divisions
Ottoman Empire: 46 divisions

Since November of the previous year, Serbian and Austro-Hungarian troops have been locked in combat around Beograd. The rest of the front falls quiet as each side pours fresh troops into this battle. Finally, on 3 May, after five and a half months, the Dual Monarchy’s troops falter and retreat from the province. But this is only a temporary respite; reinforced and reorganised, they launch a second assault on 11 July. This attack will go on until 2 October, and again result in an Austrian failure – although by then, they will have other things to worry about.

In the other theatres of war, stalemate continues to reign. The strain of war is beginning to tell on the fragile Russian economy, as their infrastructure weakens and poor planning hits industrial production and food distribution. By early September, food riots are breaking out in Russian cities, and by December these are becoming a serious threat to the stability of the government.

Unrest also affects Britain, with an abortive uprising by Irish nationalists in April. Although this is easily defeated, the British Government is forced to cancel its plans for conscription in Ireland in an attempt to head off further troubles. Another blow to Britain comes on 8 June with the death by drowning of their Minister of War, Lord Kitchener, perhaps the most famous face in the Cabinet; and on 7 December another government upset sees Lloyd George take over from Asquith as Prime Minister. This political instability does not cross the Atlantic, however: in the USA President Wilson is re-elected for a second term.

In July, as the fight for Belgrade continues to rage, the Serbs launch an abortive attack on Pecs. This is a feint, however, because on 26 July an Italian offensive conquers Rijeka. Serbian troops then move into Split virtually unopposed, and Austria-Hungary has lost all access to the sea.

Further fighting occurs in August, but without result other than increasing the casualty lists on both sides: the Italians are repulsed from Klagenfurt on 5 August, and the Austro-Hungarians from Novi Sad on 3 September.

Meanwhile, the new British War Minister decides on a daring plan to beat the trench deadlock on the Western Front, and a multi-division task force is landed near Hamburg on the north German coast. However, rapid German reinforcements prevent the British exploiting the beachhead – but equally, they lack the strength to eliminate it.

In late September, the Bulgarian Army launches a major offensive against the Sanjak of Novi Pazar. However, two attacks, on 21 September and 10 October, both fail to capture the province. On 14 November, a fresh Italian offensive captures Szombathely: the enemy are now at the very gates of Vienna. Worn out and grieved by the losses suffered by his country, Emperor Franz Josef dies on 22 November.

Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire has been expanding its hegemony over Arabia: the autonomy previously enjoyed by the Hedjaz is withdrawn, in July Yemen falls under the control of the Sublime Porte, and on 6 January 1917 Nejd cedes the province of Az-Zahran to the Ottomans. However, in Africa it is Britain that has once more gained the upper hand. Reinforcements shipped to East Africa defeat the German forces there, and by mid-1917 will not only have recaptured Uganda and Kenya but gone on to occupy Tanganyika. Minor forces also occupy Togo, leaving German control limited to a few isolated outposts of no strategic significance.

1917 will also see the war spread its bounds yet further. On 20 January, Germany seeks an alliance with Mexico; the telegram is intercepted by British intelligence and passed to the US government, which is outraged. To add insult to injury, the revolutionary Mexican government does not even deign to reply to the German offer.
Because the event is targeted at MEX, which no longer exists having been conquered by U07 back in 1914. Oops. Perhaps we need an event renaming U07 to MEX if MEX ceases to exist? Or at least a check to see if MEX exists before triggering the event.

Seeing the way things are going with the Americans, the German High Command makes the judgement that they need no longer adapt their policy to conciliate them, as war is now inevitable. Therefore on 13 February unrestricted submarine warfare is re-imposed. The United States duly declares war on Germany on 2 April.

While this is going on, events of equally world-changing importance are happening in Russia…

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[StephenT]

Eto est' nash poslednij
i reshitel'nyj boj,
s Internacionalom
vosprjanet rod ljudskoj!

(So comrades, come rally
and the last fight let us face;
the Internationale
unites the human race!)

- Eugene Pottier 1871,
translated into Russian by Arkadij Jakovlevic Koc, 1902


Over the winter of 1916-17, the food riots in Russia worsen. At last the Tsar loses patience and orders his troops to fire on the demonstrators – only to see his army join forces with the rebels instead. Deprived of any support, the Tsar abdicates, and a Provisional Government is set up on 13 March 1917 to manage the war effort until a new constitution can be prepared.

Germany promptly takes advantage of the turmoil in Russia by allowing the prominent Social Democrat leader Lenin to return home (despite ungentlemanly suggestions from certain political figures that he be assassinated en route.) Between Lenin and the newly-organised Petrograd Soviet, a series of radical proclamations effectively cripples the offensive strength of the Russian Army. Despite this, the Provisional Government does attempt a minor attack on Memel in May, attempting to prove to their allies that they remain serious about fighting Germany. However, the Germans easily repel the attack, and the Provisional Government loses credibility – on 5 July it falls, to be replaced by the cabinet of the Social Revolutionary Alexander Kerensky.

On the other fronts of the war, stalemate continues. The British beachhead at Hamburg continues to defy all German attempts to crush it. Conversely, the British make two attempts to widen their perimeter, in August and December, by capturing the main base of the High Seas Fleet at Wilhelmshaven. However, both attacks are repelled. On the Southern front, the battle of Belgrade in 1916 has left both sides exhausted and unable to make more than desultory attacks. In the spring, the Italians and Serbs launch joint probes against Bolzano and Pecs, but by 25 April have been thrown back. A further Italian offensive in June against Bolzano and Graz likewise comes to nothing in the rough Alpine terrain. The Italian High Command now determines that Graz must fall - to save Italian honour - and so two further attacks are launched on 21 August and 23 October. Both fail. Meanwhile, two Serbian attempts to take Pecs during October and November meet with an equal lack of success. By the end of 1917, the front lines have not moved by more than a mile or two in either direction, despite the continuing loss of life.

Dramatic events in Russia will soon change the map of Europe in a far more decisive manner, however. On 28 August the military leader General Kornilov attempts a coup d’état. His erstwhile ally, Prime Minister Kerensky, makes a devil’s bargain with Lenin’s Bolsheviks in order to cling to power. However, on 8 November it is Lenin’s turn to launch a coup.

This one succeeds.

Declaring that Russia is now a Soviet state opposed to imperialist conquest, Lenin promptly takes his country out of the war with Germany. Taking his anti-Imperialist rhetoric at his word, the former subject peoples of the Russian Empire seize the opportunity to declare independence. Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic and Trans-Caucasian regions are the first to create new nation states:

Belarus soon follows. However, the Finnish bid for independence is short-lived, as a group of fanatical Russian officers seize power in Helsinki, executing the Finnish nationalist leaders and declaring a Regency Council in the name of the Romanov dynasty.
Actually, this seems to be a problem with the Finnish event since they should have become independent too . I suspect it’s a problem with Russia having national claims over Finnish territory and so immediately re-annexing them as soon as they become independent.

Meanwhile, other anti-Bolshevik officers and nobles gather in the south of Russia, setting up a temporary capital at Maikop. Yet another centre of power is formed at Omsk, as various democratic assemblies in Siberia and the Volga Basin set up a fractious federation in opposition to both Red totalitarianism and White authoritarianism.

The effect of these events on the Russian armies at the front is calamitous. Deprived of all support and supplies, torn by conflicting orders from Moscow (telling them they are now at peace with Germany) and Maikop (saying the war continues), and caught in a hostile countryside now falling under the control of Polish national committees, they soon disintegrate into little more than an armed mob.

Many of the Russian troops simply desert and go home. Others turn to banditry, wandering the Polish countryside and even crossing into Austria-Hungary. (About a division’s worth of troops even manage to cross the Hungarian plains in small groups and re-assemble in Serbia, where they take service under the Serbian crown as the Russian Expeditionary Force.).

A few, meanwhile, manage to filter back through Ukraine to the territory of the Maikop government over the River Don, where Generals Kornilov and Denikin are forming a White army to defeat the Bolsheviks.

However, even more dramatic is the brief rise of Colonel Ivan Alexeev of the 57th Moscow Division. With the local chain of command in chaos and many senior officers leaving the front to protect their estates from marauding Reds, Alexeev found himself the only person at XV Corps headquarters willing and able to give orders. He seized the opportunity with both hands, giving himself a field promotion to Lieutenant-General. Desperate soldiers and junior officers from all around rallied to Alexeev, as he alone seemed to know what he was doing. Before long he commanded a ragged and starving army over a million strong – and decided that the only thing to do with them was attack the German lines. There was plenty of food in Germany, he told his men. They believed, and followed. The incredulous Germans were unable to stand against such a huge horde, and broke. By the end of November 1917, the province of Oppeln had fallen to Alexeev’s men (by now, he had promoted himself to Field Marshal).

Alexeev now believed himself capable of anything. He declared the city of Oppeln the capital of the Pan-Slavic Empire, dreamed of leading his troops back across Poland to recapture Moscow, heading south to link up with the Serbs, and capturing Constantinople to crown himself Tsar of all the Russias, Grand Hetman, Ilkhan of the Tatars and Kosmokrator of the Third Rome. Two days later, on 9 December, he was shot in the back of the head by a lance-corporal from the 397th Petrograd Rifle Regiment, and a committee of soldiers’ deputies negotiated a surrender with the German authorities.

Meanwhile, conflict has broken out in the Don basin. White cavalry take the undefended city of Rostov from the Soviets on 9 December. A Red relief force, moving south over the steppes, encounters White troops near Millerovo and is driven back.

On 19 December, the White forces advance on Stary Oskol. They are driven back, but a renewed attack on 22 December succeeds. Continuing their advance, they move on Voronezh on 30 December, but after a two-day battle the Reds hold the city. Meanwhile, Soviet troops successfully attack the flank of the White advance at Morozovsk. By the start of 1918 the Soviets appear to have blunted the White offensive – but White troop strength is building by the day as more Tsarist officers and troops ally to the Maikop government.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic chancellories of Europe are rocked by news of the most surprising nature: on 6 January 1918, Greece submits to Ottoman demands and cedes its northern territories to the Sultan. Staying out of the war appears to have been a wise move by the Sublime Porte, as its diplomatic strength grows by the day.

Who knows what 1918 will bring?

Map of Europe on 1 January 1918


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[StephenT]

Then raise the scarlet standard high!
Beneath its folds we’ll live and die.
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We’ll keep the red flag flying here.
- Jim Connell, 1889


The White attack on Voronezh marks the high tide of their war effort. Compared to the Soviet forces, their army is huge; but most of the men are conscripts, driven into battle by fear of their officers’ knouts. Badly organised and poorly supplied, they prove no match for the Red Army of Workers and Peasants. As winter grips the steppes of southern Russia, the outnumbered but determined Soviet army begins its counterattack.

On 23 January, Soviet forces take Stary Oskol. A cavalry force charges ahead and on 28 January recaptures the key city of Rostov-on-Don. This is only the beginning of the offensive. On 1 February the Red horsemen drive forward over the Don and occupy Krasnodar. Meanwhile, workers’ militia organised by an ambitious Communist Party bureaucrat launch a simultaneous attack from the city of Tsaritsyn towards Morozovosk. By 7 February the shape of the Soviet pincer movement is clear even to the White generals, but they are unable – or unwilling – to retreat. On 13 February the trap closes on the White army in Millerovo.

In honour of this victory, the city of Tsaritsyn receives a new name – Stalingrad.

Meanwhile, the federal Russian government of the Komuch is overthrown by far-right forces under the former Tsarist Admiral Kolchak, who immediately orders his troops to launch attacks on Red territory. The city of Irkutsk on the Trans-Siberian Railway falls without a fight, and Kolchak’s troops begin advancing along the railway towards the Soviet Far East. In the west, the counter-revolutionary army occupies Saratov in mid-February, their clear aim to link up with Denikin’s White army in the south.

However, People’s Commissar for War Leon Trotsky is not daunted. Putting the offensive against Denikin on hold, he redirects forces against Kolchak’s army. On 4 March, Saratov is recaptured and the threat of a link-up between the two White factions averted. The long-suffering soldiers of the Workers and Peasants’ Army are immediately redirected south again to capture the Salsk Oblast, which is renamed Proletarsk in their honour. Seeing victory in sight, Trotsky then orders an attack on Stavropol, which will cut Denikin’s territory in half.

However, it is a step too far. On 11 March, the exhausted Red soldiers are repulsed from Stavropol and driven into retreat. By 20 March, the victorious Whites have retaken Proletarsk also, and Denikin’s Cossacks can once again water their horses by the River Don.

This moment of triumph proves short-lived, however. After a month’s recovery, the Red Army is once again ready to take the offensive. On 18 April the Soviets take Elista, and the following day Proletarsk once more falls into their hands. This time there is no stopping them, and by 25 April the red flag flies over Stavropol, within sight of the Caucasus Mountains.

On paper, the White armies are still far stronger than their Red opponents. However, in a historic speech (which would be expunged from the records after Stalin came to power, and only rediscovered in 1981) Trotsky assures his men that the cowardly, deluded hirelings of reaction and oppression will be no match for the vanguard of the proletarian revolution. Fired by his words, the Red Army attacks Majkop through the spring rains despite odds against them of nearly 40 to 1. The White forces melt away like the winter’s snow, and on 13 May the capital of Denikin’s provisional government falls to the Soviet troops. Denikin himself is captured and sent to Moskva for trial and execution. Deprived of leadership, most of the remaining White garrisons surrender, apart from those who can flee eastwards to Kolchak’s area of control. The focus of the Russian Civil War moves to the Volga Basin and the Ural Mountains.

Meanwhile in the rest of Europe, stalemate continues. A probing attack by the Austro-Hungarians against Novi Sad in January is repulsed easily. However, with Russia out of the war, the Dual Monarchy is now able to build up its troops on the Southern Front. To avert this threat, both the French and the British move troops into Italy to shore up their ally. It is now two years since a single province has changed hands on the Western or Southern Fronts...


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